lathrop



2 Sheets-Sheet 1- (No Model.)

RQAD SGRAPBR.

Patenmd Aug. 5, 1884.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' (No Model.)

E. LATHROP ROAD SURAPER.

Patented Aug. 5, 1884.

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' Io chinos wherein a scraper, arranged diagonallyr` `40 shape oi the mold-board being such as to roll UNITED STATES PATENT 'rricn ELIAS LATT-[Reiger ronT WAYNE, INDIANA, AssIeNon To THE FLEMING MANUFACTURING COMPANY, or sAMn PLAGE.

ROAD-SCRJAPER.

, SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 303,227, dated August 5, 1884:.

Application file-d March l5, 1884. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that l, ELIAs LATnnor, of Fort Wayne, county of Allen, and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in ROadScrapers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, mak'- ing part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of niato the line of draft and connected rigidly to the tongue, is secured to and held beneath the axle and frame of a truck, and may be adj usted at its ends to any desired angle or elevation I beneath the axle to give the required slope or grade to the road, or be vraised completely from 'the ground when traveling from place to place. The object of the first part of my invention 2o is to connect'the scraper directly to the tongue in a strong, simple, and effective manner, to overcome side draft, and to afford an open path and smooth scraper-surface over iwhich the earth and sod may be moved without obstruction.

The object of the next part of :my invention is to connect thescraper-frame to a truck-frame in a novel manner to admit of the adjustment and support of the former upon the latter,

allow an open path in rear of the wheel for the discharge of earth from the scraper; and means for overcoming side draft due to the diagonal position of the scraper, and the peculiar mode of connecting the scraper-frame and trnck-` frame, above referred to. n

The object of the next part of my invention is to forni a scraper-point of novel construction to be employed with a curved scraper-blade, arranged diagonally to the line of draft, the

the earth and sod over in front of the machine and prevent it from banking upagainst the face ofthe scraper in a solid mass.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1' is I5 a plan view of my improved machine; Fig. 2,

a' plan view ofl the scraper and scraper-frame detached from the truck, and showing the choker-plate attached to the scraper; Fig. 3,-

aside elevation of the machine; Fig. 4, a perthe, plate and scraper.

5o spective view of the mold-board, showing its connection with the end of the scraper, a portion of which is broken away; Fig. 5, a perspective view of the plate which connects the end ol the tongue with the scraper, and'Fig. 6a similar view of the choker-platerdetached. 55

Thefscraper A is attached directly to the tongue B by a peculiarly formed bracketplate, C, and end braces, D E. The bracketplate Gis formed with side flanges, C' C', at l its forward end, between which the rear end of the tongue snugly fits, and is securely held bya bolt, c, passing vertically, and bolt c', passing horizontally, through the tongue and the end of the plate. The tongue A is held securely to the scraper at an angle inclined toward the front end of the scraper, and the scraper is arranged diagonally therewith and to the line of draft. The bracket-plate G is formed with a depending plate, C2, arranged di agohally across its under'surface, which ts in 7o a mortise in the face of the scraper A, and is secured thereto by bolts e c, which pass through The bracket-plate C projects to the rear ofthe scraper, and is formed with an elongated opening, C, through which 7 5 the lower end of a bar, K, secured to the truckfraine, freely passes,as will hereinafter appear. The scraper is preferably formed of a heavy wooden board, A, having a metal plate, A', bolted securelyto its face upon the forward 8o side thereof; and the bolts c c, which pass through the board' and plate, may be counter# sunk in the plate to provide a smooth surface over which the earth vmay pass without obstr'lction. The braces D and E 'are secured to 85 the ends of the scraper A, and converge at the forward ends until they meet upon opposite sides ofthe tongue, to which they are securely held by a bolt, dhwhich passes through the tongue and through the ends of both braces. 9o The rear ends of the braces D and E are bent downwardly to reach behind the scraper, and present thereto a broad bearing-surface. The brace D is of peculiar forni, as shown clearly in Figs. 2 and. 3, to rmly 'hold the rear end 95 of the scraper, to offer no obstruction to the -,elevation of the scraper by coming in contact with the axle, and to give ample room for the passage beneath it andin front of the scraper of the earth and sod, whichV accumulates and roo projects at times above the rear', endjof the scraper in its passage from the machine. The peculiar form referred to consists of the horizontal Ycurve D', upward curve D2, and arch D3. The plate is also formed with. a deep flange above and a smaller iiange upon its under side, to giveto' it the required'strength. The arrangement of the scraper diagonally to the line of draft tends to cause a side draft upon the tongue, and as the direction of pressure is at right angles to the surface of the scraper, a longitudinal thrust toward the forward end and a lateral pressure upon the rear end of the scraper toward the opposite side of the machine will be exerted thereupon,whicl1 forces we endeavor to overcome by the following described means, some of which are welly known. The forward end of the scraper is` provided with a curved cutter-point, F, and ylandsidc F' of peculiar form, as will herein,

after appear. The point enters and tali es firm hold upon the earth, and the landside, which lextends back some distance in rear of the for;v .ward end of scraper-board, is firmly secured= thereto, and affords abrcad abutting surfacej to press against the bank and resist the longil tudinal thrust of the scraper, while the p'encl tration of the curved scraper-point into the earth partly counteracts the pressure upon the l rear end of the scraper `at the opposite side of The tongue is secured by its brackets to thescraper at, one side of the,` center and nearer the rear cnd of the scraper, which affords additional means for resisting` the excessive lateral pressure upon the. rear; end ofthe scraper due to its diagonal arrangei .mentand to the accumulation of material the line of draft.

scraped from the road-surface, aswellas to.,a

`slight strain brought upon therear end of the scraper by its attachment to `one side of the center Vof the axle of the truck.v lThe frame G of the truck is preferably formed of a central beam, G', and side beams, G2 G3, which converge towardthe front of the machine, and are bolted to a front'cross-piecaGt, middle cross-piecc,G5, andfrearcrosspiece, G. The frame G is supportedl upon an axle, H, upon the ends of which are journaled ,thel wheels'l. The frame is secured to the axle upon one side of its central line, and nearest the wheel toward which extends the forward end of the scraper, the object of which vis to leave aclear unobstructed space in front of the rear end of the scraper, and bchindihe adjacent or rear wheel of the truck, through Awhichthe ,earthv may freely pass.

. To effect a secure attachment of thescraperframe to the truck-frame and ladmitof the adjustment ofone upon the other, an iron strap, H', passes beneath the axle at either end, and is bolted firmly to the longitudinal beams G2 .Gof the frame, and an iron bracket-strap, H2,

is similarly bolted to the central frame-beam, G', and serves both to hold the .iLXle securely to' the frame and form a support for a bar, K,

which passes through and is firmly held at its upper end by the frame-timbers, and is arranged to project downwardly in rear ofthe axle. rlhe lower end of bar K passes through the elongated opening C3 in the end of the tongue or bracket-plate G,`and the forward end ofthe central frame-beam, G', is connected to the tongue B by the evener-bolt L.

rlhe wheel frame and scraper-frame are coupled together to prevent the lateral movement of one upon the other, but admit of the scraper being raised or lowered bodily, or either end adjusted independently, by the following described means: A hand-lever, M, secured to one end of roclcshaft m, is adjustably secured at any required position upon toothed segment-bracket, M', secured to the crossfpiece of the frame, and an arm, M2, upon the other end of said rock-shaft, isconnected by a rod, M3, with the forward end of the scraper-board A, by which means Athe said forwardl end of the scraper-board and plow -v point secured thereto may be raised orlowered. A similar arrangement of parts,designated by corresponding letters of reference, is provided for raising or lowering the rear end of the scraper.` The lower ends of rods M3 are preferabl y connected to the scraper-board by short rods m', which pass through eyes in the lower ends of the rods M3, and are bolted atA their downwardly-projecting ends to the scraper, by which means a limited movement of the scraper is permitted upon its connection to admit of its angular adjustment. y It will be seen from the above-described construction and arrangement that the tongue is secured to the scraper about one-third of its length from the rear end thereof, and tends to draw the tongue toward the forward end of the scraper, and the central frame-piece is secured to the aXle of the truck at about one-third its length nearest the off wheel and forward end of the scraper, and tends to draw the tongue iny the opposite direction away from the -forward end of the scraper, and that these oppos- .ing forces, tending to turn the machine from its line of draft, will approximately balance each other, and at the same time admit of the arrangement of the rear wheel in such position relatively to the rear end of the scraper that no obstruction will be offered to the passage of material away from the scraper.

A Two seats, N N', are secured to the frame'- pieces G G3 for the driver and an attendant for raising and lowering the scraper, and it will -be-secn that the weight of the men, as well, as the weight of the frame, will be thrown mainly4 upon the offwheel, and maybe ybrought more directly upon the forward end ofthe scraper to insure the entrance of the plow-point into the earth 4when it is desiredto bring the utmost force to bear upon the plow in oyercoming hard and unyielding soil. The weight of the machine and Ameuwill afford another element vwhich may be varied in counterbalanc- IOO ing the machine to overcome side draft, and additional weight-may be applied to the frame if it should be required.

The scraper is formed with a curved face, the lower edge being sharpened to present a cutting-edge tothe earth, and the point or eutter F, at its forward end, is also curved at its lower edge to conform to the curvature of the scraper, and has its forward end curved forwardly into line parallel with lthe path ofthe machine and line of draft, or nearly so, and is sharpened to adapt it to readily cut its way through the opposing earth. The upper edge of said point F is also curved forwardly, as shown, for preventing the earth, when it is first cnt, and while yet not broken up, from sliding up over 'the scraper, and for giving it a revolving movement, and causing it to turn over away from the face of the scraper, so that it will not adhere in solid masses and follow upwardly along the surface of the scraper, to become clogged with the framing tongue and braces, but will be disintegrated and rolled along in front of the scraper, and in the direction of its length, to its discharge at the end thereof in rear of the wheel.

Then it is desired to carry the earth forward a greater distance than in the ordinary way, to level up undulating places and fill in deep ruis or depressions in the road, I employ a choker-board, O, suspended beneath the tongue, and arranged to yabut at its rear vend snugly against the face of the scraper-plate, and provided with an eye, o, at its forward end, which is connected by a link, o', with a bolt passing through the tongue. A plate, o?, secured near the rear end of the scraper-board to project laterally from the upper edge there of, to rest upon the tongue bracket-plate C in rear of the tongue, serves to hold the choker in place downwardly, or in either direction laterally. The tongue prevents it from being raised or lifted upwardly, and the link o retains it at its proper angular position. The

l link may be of .any desiredv length to determine the required angle at which the board is to beheld.

Other means may ne employed for connecting the chokerplate to the scraper in any desired position upon its face without departing from my invention.

The choker may be quickly attached. to or detached from the machine, as its use is only for the special purposes above described.

The operation of the scraper will be readily understood. By beginning in the middle of a road to -be made and driving back and forth the point and cutter in front ofthe right-hand or oli wheel. first malte a smooth place or track for that wheel. The earth,taking a natural and easy dow backward, is deposited inside of the path of the left-hand or near wheel, unless itis desired to level up, in which case the leftfhand or rear end of the cutter is elevated as much or little as desired, to adapt it to an unevenness of the ground or the work to be executed. By driving down one side of the road and back on'the other side close to the bank, with the forward end of the cutter or scraper depressed, and the rear end to suit the grade or slope required, the earth will be scraped from the sides and deposited in the middle of the road, and any excess of earth so deposited may, by applying the choker and readjusting the scraper to the proper level, be carried forward and deposited, whenever it may be desired, for iilling in or removal to a more distant place.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. In a road-scraper, the combination, with the scraper arranged diagonally to the line of draft, of theplow-point, mold-board, andland side secured to its forward end, and a tongue attached to the scraper at about two-thirds of its length' from the forward end, and the end braces connecting the scraper and tongue, substantiall y as described.

` 2. In a road-scraper, the combination of the scraper-board arranged diagonally to the line of draft, and suspended beneath a truck-axle, the tongue secured thereto, the brace l), and the brace E, curved beneath the axle, and curved in front of and above the face of the scrapenboard, and secured directly to the rear side thereof, substantially as and for the purpose specied. p

3. In a road-grader, the combination of the scraper arranged diagonally to the line of draft and suspended beneath the axle' of a truck, the tongue coupled to the forward end of the frame, the bracket C, provided with a depending plate secured against the face of the scraper, and a rearwardly-proj ecting slotted plate, and the bar K, secured to and depending from the frame to engage in said slot, substantiallyT as and for the purpose described.

4. In a road-grader, the scraper arranged diagonally yto the line of draft and secured to a tongue at a point between the middle portion and rear end, in combination with and suspended beneath the axle of a truck in a planebetween the center of the axle and the wheel toward which extends the forward end of the scraper, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. In a ioadgrader, the scraper arranged obliquely to the line of draft, in combination with a tongue rigidly secured thereto atV a point in rear of the center of the length of the scraper, or between said center and its rear end, and one or more oblique tongue-braces also rigidly connected with the scraper, substantially as described.

6. In a road-grader, the scraper arranged obliquely to the line of draft underneath the truck-axle, in combination with a tongue and tongue-braces rigidly secured to said Scraper, and a su pporting-truck carrying means for adjusting said scraper and propelled or drawn IOO IIO

the curve of the scraper-plate, and at its upper edge to give the earth a rolling movement, substantially as described. 1 In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto set my hand this 16th day of February, A. D. 1884. 15

ELIAS LATI-mor.

Vituesses:

C. F. PFEIEEER, HERMAN MICHAEL. 

